


Goldi and Her Bears

by CurlySuzyQ



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-06-14
Updated: 2015-06-14
Packaged: 2018-04-04 07:32:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,513
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4129765
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CurlySuzyQ/pseuds/CurlySuzyQ





	Goldi and Her Bears

_“Once upon a time, there was a young woman named Goldilocks, because her curls shone bright like the sun shining through ice.”_

“Sun through ice? Henry, who wrote this?”

“I dunno. But look at Goldilocks.” The small boy in the diner booth across from the woman, Shirley, pushed the book so she could see the picture. Goldilocks, with a bow and a leather quiver full of arrows was kneeling in front of the opulently dressed queen, Goldilocks’ raggedy wool and fur cape falling around her looking like painted straw compared to the queen’s silks. But her hair did shine beautifully, almost coming off the page with a silver-gold glare. “See? She’s being asked by the evil queen to kill three bears that are attacking villagers passing through the forest.”

“I don’t remember Goldilocks being so tough,” Shirley said as she ate more of her omelet.

This is how it was every day. Henry would find Shirley in the morning before school and tell her about the stories from the Enchanted Forest; the world of his favorite book. Shirley didn’t mind of course, Henry was a quick-witted, spirited kid, and she was more than happy to spend time with him. It was just a bit exasperating having to deal with the effects of his wild imagination.

Henry had shown her stories about Snow White and the Evil Queen, and Snow White and Prince Charming, Rumplestiltskin, Beauty and the Beast, and Jiminy Cricket, within the past couple weeks. But in Henry’s mind, all of these characters were actually the people of Storybrooke, trapped under a curse cast by the Evil Queen. After hearing that the Evil Queen was his mother, Madame Mayor, Shirley chalked it up to issues with mom and the story book being the strongest outlet. If it helped him work through his issues, then Shirley wouldn’t stop him.

“That’s the problem; you don’t remember,” Henry answered. Of course it was obvious to him.

“So why does Goldi want to do this for the queen?” Henry took the leather-bound book back, turning the page to continue reading.

_“In return for killing the three bears, the queen had promised young Goldilocks a place of safety within the queen’s palace. She was in need of a huntsman that would be well taken care of._

_“Goldilocks, having been alone and supporting herself for years, readily accepted the queen’s offer, and set off into the woods in search of the three fearsome bears.”_

“That’s quite the way to start a story.”

_“The three bears were huge and fierce, and drove her from their cave. Though the Evil Queen had asked her to kill these three, Goldilocks was not strong enough, and fled into the forest. There, she found a small clearing, and shaded and hidden within, there was a small cottage. Goldilocks quickly crept inside the cottage, only to find that no one was home to help her._

_“ “I will explain myself to the owners when they arrive,” she reasoned. For now, Goldilocks would stay and rest up, for she was badly wounded and in need of shelter.”_

Henry looked up at that moment to stare at the town’s veterinarian with serious, brown eyes. “You know that you’re Goldilocks, right? I mean, you both have curly blond hair. And you both work with animals.”

“David works with animals too, but that doesn’t make him the huntsman. Two things in common with a story book character,” _and a really odd version at that_ , “do not make us the same person.” She shook out her curls a moment as she thought. This boy was so attached to the idea that everyone was a character; she couldn’t just try and squash that belief. _That would kill the kid._ “Plus, I’ve never hunted bears. I haven’t even hunted rabbits.”

“Keep listening to the story though! The cottage she hides in is-“

“Is going to make you late for class, Henry.” She had to cut him off before he really was late. Standing up out of the booth, Shirley ushered Henry to the door and scooped his book up behind him. “Come on, let’s get you to school.” She had him through the diner’s front door before he could protest again.

“At least finish reading your story. Maybe it’ll help you remember.” She held the book to her chest as she walked him over to the school, Miss Swan and Mary Margaret talking quietly in the yard as the students rolled in. Henry waited for her to answer, watching her intently. He was a good kid, but took his fairy tales quite seriously.

“I promise. I’ll start reading it after I check in on the animal shelter.”

“No, finish it before. You really have to read it, please.” Shirley knew she really should check in on the shelter, but Henry stared up at her with dark, pleading eyes. _Kid, you’re gonna ruin me._

“I have to check in on the bear cub, Henry. He’s been giving me a hell of a time, and I can’t just leave David to deal with him.”

“You mean Baby Bear?” Henry would always bring reality right back to his fairy tales, even if it meant a Baby Bear without Mama and Papa Bear. Shirley and David had taken to calling him Junior, but either name was fine.

Junior was lucky to be alive though after being caught in a bear trap. His hind leg had a huge ring of fur missing around the thigh, an uneven edge wrapping around a border of angry, raw skin. It looked as though the bear had clawed at himself, gaping gashes travelling perpendicular to the circle of naked flesh. The ring of flesh contained within itself multiple layers and rings. A few centimeters of skin turning black and blue from bruising stood out in stark contrast to the innermost ring. Blood flowed freely from the center of the poor cub’s pain, the muscle torn and ripped and fraying as though he had jerked it back and forth, hoping to free himself. The cub was lucky he hadn’t exposed the bone, but that thought wasn’t much comfort.

Now that Junior was getting better, his leg almost completely healed, he was getting restless, and the two had no idea how to get him back out to the forest. They hadn’t needed to knock him out when Shirley was stitching him up, but now there was no way in hell she was just going to have David hoist him up, plop him in the back of his truck, and just shuffle off like it was nothing. Nah, this was going to be a lot harder for her and David this time around, but she’d deal with it. She’d just have to figure out a way to sedate him without letting him swipe at her.

“I’m sure you’ll figure it out. I mean, you’re Goldilocks.” Shirley sighed, his confidence a welcome change from David’s near constant worry, but its source, admittedly, troubled her.

“I know. And this is one of my three little bears.” She looked across the yard again at Miss Swan and Mary Margaret, then back to Granny’s Diner and the animal shelter next door. With another heavy sigh, Shirley looked back down to Henry, who stood waiting with a small smile on his face. He trusted her so much, and she relented. “Okay, okay. I’ll head back over to Granny’s and read it over a cup of coffee.”

“Thanks, Miss Silver. I’ll come find you after school.” She nodded and he smiled wider now, looking slightly more relieved than necessary, before running off between Miss Swan and Mary Margaret, stopping to talk to the two before slipping inside with his teacher.

Miss Silver turned to leave after watching the two for a moment and headed back to the diner, asking Ruby for a coffee before dropping back into a red vinyl booth. This was where she’d first really talked to Henry, a few years ago while she was stressing over a stray Dalmatian and what to do with it. It hadn’t had a home for months, and she was being forced into making a decision by the Madame Mayor. That’s when Henry found her, ducking into the booth just across the table from her, his feet not even touching the ground. He’d asked her hundreds of questions, and at first, she’d just answered to keep her mind off of her problems. When he started laughing and giving a few answers of his own, Shirley began to more actively participate. And then he suddenly solved her problem: ask Dr. Hopper.

It had worked beautifully; Dr. Hopper had taken to the dog immediately, calling him Pongo and taking him to Gold’s for a collar and leash after smiling and thanking Shirley for the offer. When Henry came back the next day to ask her about how it went, they talked again and she walked him home. At first, his mother was a bit unsure of the new friendship, but she allowed it, knowing that Shirley would keep Henry on track. Silver had been his unofficial babysitter, and official good friend, ever since.

 Shirley shook out her hair again, shaking the memory from her thoughts, and dragged the heavy book open and started flipping through the stories, past Belle and the Beast, Snow White, and the Mad Hatter, until it came to rest on a page of Goldilocks waking to see an old man instead of three bears.

“Here ya go, Shirley.” The mug of coffee clacked against the table, shocking Silver for a moment, but she worked to recover.

“Thanks, Ruby.” The waitress stood staring at the book, knowing it was Henry’s, and plopped down in the booth across from Shirley.

“What’s got you digging through Henry’s book so fast?” She leaned her cheek on her fist. “He tell you who you were?” Shirley nodded and Ruby smiled, red lipstick framing gleaming white teeth. “I’m Red Riding-hood, how about you?”

“Goldilocks.” Her eyes flickered over the page before looking up at Ruby again and sheepishly asking. “Has Henry told you this version of Goldilocks yet? I’m kinda hoping to get the cliffs notes version here quick.”

Ruby peaked over the page trying to jog her memory. As she did so, she spoke absentmindedly. “So Regina’s okay with you giving Henry ideas? Last thing I heard, she was trying to get him to stop.” Regina, Henry’s Madame Mayor mother, gave everyone the stiff impression that she indulged his fantasy world about as much as a cat indulged a mouse. She was beyond upset about it; she absolutely detested it, because he painted her to be such a harsh villain. She’d stop at nothing to get him to stop; she’d even hidden his book a time or two, and convinced Dr. Hopper to reinforce the idea that Henry’s fairytale beliefs were unhealthy during their sessions she forced him into. Shirley’s silence as she thought over what to say piqued Ruby’s interest, her sharp eyes zeroing in on her shaking out blonde curls. “Regina does know you’re feeding into this thing for Henry?”

“I’m not feeding anything, Ruby.” She leaned forward.

“But you’re letting him think you believe him?”

“I’m just…” Shirley wasn’t quite sure how to finish that thought. She didn’t necessarily believe everything that Henry said, nobody would, but she could see the grain of truth tucked into each of his stories. She believed something, she just wasn’t quite sure what. “I’m just trying to do right by him.” Ruby watched her a moment longer before turning back to the book. _I hope to god that reason was good enough._

With a gasp Ruby’s mouth snapped open, white teeth shining under the diner’s fluorescent lights. “Oh yeah! That was the weirdest plot twist! Man, that story was crazy.” Shirley stared at Ruby with a harshly disbelieving look, popping and eyebrow up after a second.

“What kind of explanation was that?”

Ruby shrugged. “I dunno.” She flipped the story a few pages forward to stop on a pictured of Goldilocks picking up bear skins. “But the bears were really nice! I can’t remember why the Queen wanted them dead though… But read the story! I don’t want to spoil it,” Ruby smirked as she sat back in the booth. Whatever the ending was of Goldilocks’ story, Ruby sure thought it was great. Shirley sighed and pulled the book back as Granny yelled at Ruby to keep working. “Read it,” she called over her shoulder.

“Okay, okay,” Shirley conceded. She shook out her curls again as she hunched over the story, flipping the pages back to see Goldilocks crawling through the cottage to fall on a bed.

_“Goldilocks found a bedroom before she found medicine or food, and so decided to sleep before healing herself. She fell into a deep sleep that lasted for three days.”_ Shirley flipped the page to see an old man and a boy standing over Goldilocks.

“And that’s when they found her.” _How did they not notice her for three days?_

_“When Goldilocks awoke, she saw an old woodcarver and his young son. Their sudden appearance frightened her, and in her fright she ran through the cottage, but before she could leave, she tripped over one of the three chairs at the kitchen table and fell, breaking it._

_““I am sorry!” she cried, but the father and his son were kind, and forgave her. The woodcarver took in Goldilocks and cared for her. Goldilocks grew well again with him and his son, and as thanks one morning, she made the three porridge. She left the three bowls on the window sill of the kitchen to cool as she waited for the two to wake._

_“When the three had returned to the kitchen to eat their porridge together, the bowls were gone. Thinking thieves had eaten the porridge and thrown the bowls away, Goldilocks and the son searched outside for them. As Goldilocks came outside, she saw the three bears were eating the porridge! The bears, Goldilocks found out, were actually very sweet bears. They let her touch their fur and sit with them as they ate. As she pet them, she noticed they smelled of apples. The Queen’s special apples grown in the royal gardens!_

_“That was when Goldilocks found out the Queen was wicked and cruel. She had lied to Goldilocks and wanted her to kill innocent bears. She vowed then to protect the three bears, and the bears, after eating Goldilocks’ porridge, protected her, along with the woodcarver and his son. And Goldilocks and the three bears lived happily ever after.”_

“Happily ever….” _Since when did Goldi stay with the bears? She always ran in the end, didn’t she?_ Silver closed the book, flipping it over to examine the cover. “Who the hell wrote this? It’s not even the right-” The story slapped her in the face. “Oh.” The sound escaped before she could drown it in steaming coffee, which admittedly stayed hot surprisingly long. This brought Ruby over again, and she stood to the side, refilling Shirley’s mug.

“So did you like your story?” She shrugged, still looking over the cover and the first few pages to try and find the name of the crack-pot author.

“It was a twist, that’s for sure.” Ruby watched a moment longer, propping her hand on her hip.

“But?” She prodded Shirley on, a quirk of a smile growing on her lips practically dripping with red.

Silver snorted and slurped her drink again before answering. “But nothing. It’s just a story.” A jerk of surprise pulled Ruby back a moment before Shirley righted herself. “No. I mean…” She was not doing so hot today, explaining her feelings about Henry’s fairy tales. “I… I don’t know what I mean.”

“Well, you better figure it out, Shirl. Henry’s going to want his book back, and you’re going to have to answer him.”

“Yeah,” She pulled out a menu, scanning over the breakfast foods before tucking it back away. “I’ve got an idea though. Willing to help out?” Ruby flashed a wolfish grin, nodding and pulling her note pad out.

 

“Hey, Miss Silver. Hey, David.” Henry called out to the pair as he wandered into the animal shelter. Shirley looked up from her desk to answer while David was busy lifting a covered cage into the back of his truck. “What’s David doing?” Henry’s sharp eyes flicked back and forth between the cage and David before settling on Shirley.

“Hey, Kid. David’s actually loading up Baby Bear so we can release him today.” The boy’s dark eyes lit up hearing that, and he came closer to her side.

“Really? He’s better already?” Shirley started hauling herself off of the stool at her desk to stand next to Henry. Damn she was getting old. Not a grey hair on her head, but her bones sure felt creakier than last year.

“He sure is. He’s been healthy enough to leave for a few weeks now, but we just couldn’t figure out how to sedate him without getting close.” She could see the question in Henry’s eyes: _how did you figure it out?_ Instead of making him answer, the vet reached into her bag and pulled out his book. “I’ll admit, Goldi’s story sure gave me a great idea. So, thank you for that.” She looked down at the bowl on the ground, bits of porridge gelled on to the sides, before looking back to Henry and handing him his book back, the fading leather of the cover sliding easily past her fingers. He held it close, clinging to it like a security blanket.

“But,” his eyes burned with pain, startling Shirley as he spoke again. “It’s more than just a story. You don’t believe you’re Goldilocks?” She wasn’t sure how to answer him and thank god she didn’t have to right away.

“Miss Silver, Junior’s all ready to go. Did you want to come with?” David came in and saved her skin at just the right time. But, her guilt had her invite Henry along for a very quiet, very awkward ride of staring out windows and watching the road and paths through the woods. The whole way all Shirley could think of was how to explain that these were just stories, fairy tales, fantasies made up by, someone who didn’t even know the originals for one. How could she say that though, and not let him down.

Silver was so wrapped up in her own angst and guilt that she hadn’t even noticed that Junior’s cage was on the ground, door open, and Junior was just about to take his first steps back out into the wild. She snapped to when she heard the cub bleat, a sharp whine that echoed through the entire forest before cutting off abruptly in his throat. Junior called again, and a feeling of unease settled over Shirley. “Henry, stay close to the truck, okay?” He nodded but wouldn’t acknowledge her past that simple motion.

“Actually, Buddy, how about you hop into the cab? I’m not sure you should be out if Junior’s yelling for family or….” His guess was as good as Shirley’s, and judging by the rustling in the underbrush, his guess was right. David started hauling himself up into the driver’s seat, getting ready to start up his old ford and Silver pulled at the now empty cage to try and shove it back into the bed. She struggled with it as Junior continued to bleat and call after others.

“Shirley!” Her head snapped back as she spun to see a 300 pound black bear standing in front of her, its nose hovering inches away from her blonde curls. It snorted and sniffed, pulling across them before the bear dropped down on to its front paws, panic and disbelief holding Henry, David, and Shirley absolutely still. She couldn’t even scream if she wanted to. And she thought bringing Henry out here was a good idea? What was wrong with her?

She continued to scold herself as the bear backed away, turned around, and lumbered over to Junior, the cub being met by a much larger black bear on the other side. “Do you think those might be Junior’s parents?” David whispered. Once David had spoken, Silver turned to make sure Henry was okay before watching the three bears wander back into the deeper sections of the forest.

“Mama Bear and Papa Bear.”

“I told you!”

“I know, Henry. You did.” She slammed the gate on the ford closed and hopped into the cab, squishing the boy between her and David. “And you were absolutely right.” David’s blue eyes, swimming with confusion and relief, connected with Shirley’s. “We don’t tell anybody about this, okay?”

After a moment, David laughed, Henry smiling wide in the middle, and he started the truck. “Whatever you say, Goldilocks.” She laughed at that, pulling Henry in close to her for a side hug, one that he leaned into without hesitating.

“Thanks, Kid.” She watched the trees run past the window. “I really needed that.”


End file.
